


I love you...

by Vivichan10



Series: Kibbs/NCIS [1]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:07:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28677171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vivichan10/pseuds/Vivichan10
Summary: Kibbs. It's really late. Kate and Gibbs are the only ones left. Kate has a question for her boss that might change everything between them.
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs/Caitlin Todd
Series: Kibbs/NCIS [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2101860
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	I love you...

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Français available: [Je t'aime...](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28698720) by [Vivichan10](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vivichan10/pseuds/Vivichan10)



> Hi! It's my first ever Kibbs fanfic, and it's also my really first english fanfic (I'm french). Actually I did write it in both languages, so if you are french and you want to read it in our native language just ask! ;-)  
> Hope you like it! It's pure fluff, and obviously Kate, in my head, is still alive. Enjoy!

# I love you...

It was so late that Gibbs expected to be lonely in the bullpen. When the elevator doors finally opened, he got out of it and took a sip of his coffee. _Perfect, as hot and dark has he liked it!_

He could’ve gone home to work on his boat, or, for once, sleep a bit; but he stayed instead to get rid of the paperwork that had been lying on his desk for too long.  
  
Like he had imagined, all was calm and all the desks were empty, well… all except one. Asleep on her desk, Kate was there. He smiled. With time she became more and more like him and even if it was twisted, he was really proud of that. Since Air Force One she had transformed, and she soon had become one of the best agents he ever met. She was now as paranoid as he was, she was sleeping with her gun under the pillow and she was so invested in her work that she seems to live at the office. But hey… even if he loved ( _a bit too much if he was really honest with himself_ ) how much she was workaholic, he knew that this life came with a lot of problems. He had been there. After all, his marriage with his work was his only successful relationship, that said a lot about his life. And he didn’t want Kate to suffer, not like, he, was suffering. It wasn't a good idea for a young woman like her to sleep here, her head leaning against the hardwood of her desk. She deserved better.

He sat at his own desk and as usual he high five mentally himself to have put Kate’s desk right where he could watch her without her knowing. She seemed so peaceful and really, she was breathtaking. Stop there, sailor, he intimated himself mentally. _Think about rule number 12… and I stop you right now, even if rules are meant to be broken, not this one, especially with HER. She’s too young for you, and why would she be with an old irritable bastard like you, huh?_

But he couldn’t stop, he was drawn to her like a magnet. It was contrary to all common sense and logic, but he finally had to admit that Kate was way more than a colleague or even a friend for him. Well he wished she was more… He headslapped himself and got up. At least, he would be able to concentrate on what he had to do instead of having some totally inappropriate fantasies all including an agent, the said agent of which he was the boss for God sake! He left his cup of coffee on his desk and got around it. Standing in front of a very asleep Caitlin Todd he felt like a total idiot. How to wake her up? Did he really want to? She was so beautiful while sleeping… _Come on Gunny!_ He put one hand on her shoulder and whispered “Agent Todd… Kate…”

Kate wiggled and soon her eyes popped open. She jumped to her feet, ashamed to have fallen asleep and even more to have been awakened by Gibbs.

“Gibbs!”she blushed. “I’m sorry, I was…”

He wanted to tell her not to apologise, because it was a sign of weakness, but instead he went for something more gentle. “It’s all right Kate. Go home. Believe me, sleeping here isn’t good for your spine. Those desks are not made for a good sleep.”

“What about you? Are you not going home?” She asked with a look meaning something along the lines of it’s the pot calling the kettle black.

“I have work to do.”

She nodded, held his gaze and as usual she did exactly what she wanted to do. She sat back on her chair, like she was telling him that if he wasn’t going home, neither would she. By experiment, Gibbs knew there was nothing to do or to say to change her mind. Caitlin Todd wasn’t an easy woman to convince and something told him that she could hurt him if he tried. For an inexplicable reason, he was quite relieved to not see her leaving and he was even more happy that she had deliberately chosen to stay with him instead of going home, or worse, go on a date with some guy she just met. _No Sir, he wasn’t jealous of the said guy. Not even a bit. It would be really inappropriate, wouldn’t it?_ Just to have the last word, he gave her his Gibbs’ look and then he got back at work while Kate turned on her computer.

He always loved working with her. With Tony, he had listened to him go on and on about a supermodel he met the evening before and McGee was always talking about informatic stuff he didn’t even try to understand. Kate, she worked in silence. A silence far from being heavy… no, he found it quite relaxing to be honest. The only presence of the young woman next to him brightened all of those long hours of paperwork.

He took the first document on the pile, not really sure he would be able to concentrate when Kate was distracting him without even trying or knowing. He growled and took a sip of his coffee. This growl apparently drew the attention of Kate. She raised one eyebrow to ask him the reason for his frustration. He would have been a full dumbass if he told her that it was because he couldn’t go around his desk, put a piece of her luxurious hair behind her ear, and kiss her stupid that he was frustrated. Not receiving an answer, the brunette shook her head and turned to her PC screen to get her work done. They work like that in perfect silence during a good half an hour, then suddenly Kate stood up and got near her boss.

"Gibbs?”

“Hmm?” he responded without looking up from what he was doing. He didn’t trust himself, especially as tired as he was, to look up and find her magnificent hazel eyes without doing something extraordinarly tempting, but as much stupid. Like kiss her until she forgets her own name. _Damn! He was really in a big mess!_ To avoid any temptation, he took his almost empty cup in his hand and waited for Kate to speak again.

“The other day Abby showed me some words in sign language… some basic stuff… like: hello, goodbye, and the alphabet, you know…”

“And?”

“At the end, she insisted that I learn something else, a sign, she said that it was a really important one, but she refused to tell me what it meant. And since you’re the only person I know who can sign, apart from Abby, I was hoping that you could… help me?”

“Show me.”

At these words he looked up and missed a heartbeat as he met her eyes. The only lights that were still switched on were reflected on them and made them shine like some beautiful stars. _Hell! A full galaxy was in there!_ He had to remember how to breath and took another sip of the now cold coffee, once again to stay on track. _Concentrate Gibbs!_ Kate smiled, happy to finally discover what that sign meant. Very carefully she placed her fingers like Abby has shown her and Gibbs almost choked with his coffee.

“It’s a swear word, isn’t it? I should have known.” Kate blushed, suddenly really intrigued by her shoes.

It was what made her charm. She was a fearless fieldworker, brave and sometimes terrifying agent, but her education and her religion made her someone just as prudish and reserved as strong and determined. Gibbs shook his head to regain all his brain cells. He didn’t want to keep her embarrassed for longer, so he said: “I was not a swear word. Not at all.” Oh, now he could see what Abby was trying to do here. That little smug matchmaker wouldn’t stop plotting against him those days! And now he was in scary waters because of her… No doubt that Kate would not look at him in the eyes for several weeks when she would learn what she just signed to him.

“Gibbs, what does it mean then?”

“I love you.”

“I beg your pardon?!”

“It means I love you.”

“Oh…” Her mouth was open, and clearly she was shocked. She was already blushing, but for the first time since Gibbs met her, she didn’t look down and instead she kept her gaze fixed on his. “Well then…” she said calmly once she took a big breath. She still looked at him with her big hazel eyes, she raised her hand and really slowly and carefully started once again to sign. She was spelling something: J.F.T.H.R.O.

Jethro. Gibbs smiled, she was doing pretty good even if she had confused the “e” and the “f”... and then he freezed. She was doing the previous sign again, but this time silently articulating “I love you”. He was expecting a lot of different reactions out of her, but that… that was unexpected and he had to try twice to put his empty cup on his desk. His heart was racing, and he really hoped that it wouldn’t explode, because he really had a good reason to live now. He looked at her, his eyes probably asking one hundred questions because she nods at him, smiling without even a trace of doubt. He grinned, and then his grin became a large smile. He should thank Abby later… but for now he had more important things to do. He stood up and walked around the desk to stay right in front of her.

“It’s really a good thing because…” he made a pause, then signed slowly so she could really understand him: “ I love you too K.A.T.I.E”

“Did you just call me Katie? I should kill you for that.”

“Would you?” he asked dead serious.

“Nah. I have a better idea…”

She stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed his lips. He could help but hold her close and run his hands through her smooth hair like he always dreamed of. _Screw Rule number 12!_ If Kate wanted him just as he wanted her, he wouldn’t do nothing against it.


End file.
